"Dr." Lee Arrested In LA

If you've watched local television at all for the past fifteen years or so, then you'll definitely have heard of the man who calls himself Dr. Kevin Lee. He's the acupuncturist who boasts that he can fix any kind of bodily pain.

Well tonight he's the one causing pain, and more than just pain it's mental distress and agony for dozens of clients who went to him not knowing that he had hidden cameras videotaping them getting undressed and in other compromised positions.

The news that he was wanted in Belize has been bubbling under the surface for weeks, but it broke today in the Taiwanese media, with reports from Los Angeles that he had been arrested there on an international warrant from Interpol.

Here's what we've been able to unearth locally:..

Jules Vasquez Reporting
Just looking at this billboard for Dr. Kevin Lee of a half-naked woman receiving a massage - you might suspect something is up. But - according to reports - hundreds of people came to his clinic here at 35 Freetown Road where he practiced acupuncture.

The woman on the lower floor said he had left the country two weeks earlier and his name has been crudely spray painted off the verandah.

Well he's no longer working anywhere. According to international news reports, Lee has been arrested in Los Angeles after complaints emerged in Belize that he had secretly taped his clients undressing themselves in his clinic.

An Interpol warrant was issued for his arrests because the clandestine videotaping reportedly involved "indecent images of well-known socialites and diplomats' wives."

There are reportedly 600 files - which were discovered on Lee's computer by a repair technician.

Belize police are in possession of those hard drives but would not say much about the case:

Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer"There are actually several allegations that Mr. Lee may have videoed some of his patients. I know that we have contacted Interpol, and through our international counterparts, we know that he is presently detained in another country and hopefully will be back in Belize soon, that would help our investigation. We have several allegations, and we do have evidence, so it's just for us to have him here and see what is the next step in our investigation."

Taiwanese expatriate Kevin Lee was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday for alleged cases of sexual assault in Belize which he secretly filmed. The crimes were brought to light after a technician who fixed his computer discovered 600 video clips containing indecent images of well-known socialites and diplomats' wives. Interpol and local police have already started an investigation into the allegations.

Lee is a Chinese medicine and acupuncture practitioner who has been living in Belize for the past two decades. He became a local household name as "Dr. Kevin Lee" after he cured a local television station owner's wife.

The technician who found the video clips attempted to blackmail Lee at first, but after the attempt failed, the video was spread online and caused outrage among senior local officials. The victims included female foreign diplomats and their family members, according to China Times.

Taiwan's representative office in Belize has confirmed Lee's arrest but said the Taiwanese national was detained for secretly filming his customers undressing themselves, not for sexual assault. The Belize government said that it will cooperate with the office to prevent the local Taiwanese community from being affected by the case.

According to reports from multiple Taiwanese news sources, "the clandestine recordings were brought to light after a technician who fixed his computer discovered 600 video clips containing indecent images of well-known socialites and diplomats' wives."
"Those reports say that the technician who found the video clips attempted to blackmail Lee at first, but after the attempt failed, the video was spread online and caused outrage among senior local officials." We stress that these reports have not been confirmed by police in Belize and are from multiple Taiwanese outlets.

Those reports also quote the Taiwanese embassy in Belize as saying that "Lee was detained for secretly filming his customers undressing themselves, not for sexual assault."

Again, not confirmed by local police, but specifics are hard to come by - except to say it is entirely a mess and one that quite understandably has any number of local patrons of his very concerned tonight. We'll keep following the story.

MOFA refutes reports of sexual assaults in Belize

Media in Taiwan have previously reported that Taiwanese massage therapist Kevin Lee was suspected of videotaping and sexually assaulting dozens of unconscious Belizean women, including the wives of several high officials.
The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contradicted initial accounts appearing in the press. ROC Ambassador in Belize Wu Jian-guo says that Lee was arrested in Los Angeles, but the case has nothing to do with sexual assault, nor are any “wives of high officials” involved.

The Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, Gong Zhong-cheng, also confirms that the office has been informed of the arrest.

The media previously reported that the crime was discovered by a computer technician who found videos of sexual assaults while repairing Lee’s computer. Wu clarified that the case surfaced because a suspect sent videos of patients undressing in Lee’s clinic and tried to use the videos to blackmail Lee. A Belizean official saw the videos and informed the Belizean police. Wu stressed that the victims are not the so-called officials’ wives.

Belize has a large number of traditional Chinese medicine clinics run by Taiwanese immigrants, and Wu expressed his hope that this incident will not affect the image of Taiwan and its people in Belize.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that a Taiwanese expatriate is being detained in Los Angeles for alleged sexual misconduct in Belize, where he practiced acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that Kevin Lee allegedly molested several of his Belizean female patients and videotaped them as they got undressed. Many of the alleged victims were said to be wives of politically prominent men and well-known socialites.

The Taiwanese embassy in Belize has been closely monitoring the situation since late last month when the case broke and it is now assisting Belizean police with their investigation, ministry spokesman James Chang said.

Ambassador to Belize David Wu said in a telephone interview with Central News Agency on Monday that Lee, who has lived in Belize for nearly two decades, had been accused of secretly filming his patients, but that he did not commit sexual assaults as has been alleged.

The China Times reported that a technician who was fixing Lee’s PC several weeks ago found nearly 600 video files on Lee’s hard disk that allegedly showed several Belizean socialites and ministers’ wives being sexually molested in his clinic. A disk of the videos began to circulate after an attempt to blackmail Lee failed, causing uproar in the country.

Sources who have watched the videos said the supposed victims seemed to have been sexually assaulted when in a dazed state, the report said.

The alleged victims apparently include female diplomats from other countries stationed in Belize and their dependents, prompting Belizean police to issue an international warrant for Lee through Interpol, which led to Lee’s arrest last week, the newspaper report added.

Wu said his embassy has learned that a suspect who is accused of trying to blackmail Lee showed a disk and the letter used in the blackmail attempt to a leader of the Taiwanese expatriate community in Belize.

The disk showed a patient undressing. Wu said as the two parties played the disk over dinner, a Belizean official nearby alerted a minister and the matter came to light.

The diplomat said the alleged victims were average Belizean citizens and that no wives of ranking officials were involved, as far as the embassy knew. He said reports that wives of senior officials were involved was simply speculation and that police in the country had yet to confirm them.

Because many of the 1,000 Taiwanese living in Belize practice Chinese medicine, Wu expressed the hope that the incident would not hurt Taiwanese expatriates in Belize and that it would not affect Taiwan’s image in the country.

Sex, lies and 600 videos; the Kevin lee massage parlor

The news of a local businessman fleeing the country for recording hundreds of sex acts and women in various forms of undress went viral over the Internet today. Massage therapist and acupuncturist Kevin Lee, was suspected of recording his massage sessions and turning them into commercials without the consent of the clients. Several clients featured in the advertisements have complained that they didn’t know they were being recorded. Allegations now say that Lee also recorded sexual favors his massage parlors offered to local clients and tourists for cash. It is known that Lee fled the country and was arrested by INTERPOL in Los Angeles on Monday. The Asian community leaders are keeping out of the situation, and the Police Department is also keeping a tight lid on the investigation that over two terabytes of video on Lee’s electronic equipment have been uncovered. Strangely enough, an employee of the Taiwanese Embassy told News Five that they only learned of the allegations since reading the online reports and offered no comment. But the same online reports quote the ambassador. The website Taiwanews.com says their Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that “a Taiwanese expatriate is being detained in Los Angeles for alleged sexual misconduct in Belize, where he practiced acupuncture and Chinese medicine. It is reported Kevin Lee molested several of his Belizean female patients and also videotaped them as they got undressed. Many of the victims were said to be wives of politically prominent people and well-known socialites.” The ambassador also reportedly told the newspaper that, “This is not a sexual assault case. No wives of ranking Belize officials fell prey to Lee.” Another report in The China Times says that a technician who was fixing Lee’s PC several weeks ago found nearly six hundred video files in Lee’s hard disk which began to circulate after an attempt to blackmail Lee failed. But who is Kevin Lee? Earlier this year, Lee was in a feature on acupuncture at his Freetown Road Office.

Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee, Arrested in the U.S.

“My grandfather and father were Chinese doctors. They taught from I was a child. From six years old I watched and they taught me how to do it and the exercise Tai Chi Qigong. So I do a massage that is half Tai Chi Qigong and energy. I do a massage that has an energy push, which is different from other massages. Energy push makes the pain go away quickly. I come to Belize to do Acupuncture. The first time I come here [to Belize] my friend had some pain because the bone was broken. I did Chinese medicine and use Chinese acupuncture and it helped her bone heal quickly. So the next time her friend comes with a lot of pain. I did the acupuncture and she said “Ooh!” She felt different, much better. So she told a lot of people, her friends, to come here and try acupuncture. For a headache, we don’t put the acupuncture needle in the head. We put it in the foot. When we put in the needle, the headache goes. With back pain, you put it in the gall bladder line. Gall bladder goes from here to the head and back. I will look for gall bladder energy line and at a special point put it there. Back pain will go. First time people come here they worry about the needle but, putting in the needle is not a lot of pain. It is no more pain than an injection. The acupuncture is less pain because the needle for acupuncture is small. Some people don’t like acupuncture, so for their first time, I give them a massage. But the problem with the massage is that it’s a lot of pain. I tell them to try acupuncture because a massage is more pain than acupuncture. A massage will push the pain and the needle, which is small, when it goes in for some people they don’t feel any pain and some maybe feel a little but it’s not a problem. People who feel sick should come. Acupuncture can work. I want to help them correct the problem and not die. If your kidney isn’t good, if your liver is not good, if your gall bladder is not good whatever kind of sickness, acupuncture can help you. I tell the patient you’ll like acupuncture so test us.”

The taiwannews.com article complied by Nancy Liu, Oscar Wu and Lilian Wu leads to more questions and allegations. The computer technician who tried to blackmail Lee may have also committed a crime. There is an alleged investigation into the computer technician and possible accomplices since the end of September when the report first came to light. Word on the street is that Lee will be eventually deported to Belize. While the fine is a mere two hundred and fifty dollars for lewd acts, it is said that Lee could be fined for every person he videoed.

Dr. Lee Update

Tonight, Kevin Lee, remains detained in Los Angeles pending deportation to Belize. He was arrested on Sunday after fleeing Belize two weeks ago when law enforcement received a computer hard drive with 200 files showing his clients getting undressed and receiving massages.

At his office on Barrack Road Lee made the videos without the consent or knowledge of his patrons. He did so using a number of hidden cameras which were situated at different spots in his establishment, including the dressing room and around the massage table.

Taiwanese media outlets have reported that he was blackmailed by a computer technician. According to best information we have been unable to unearth, this is not so. He was blackmailed by someone who - through theft - had gotten hands on a few files and put them on DVD and sent them to Lee with a blackmail letter. Best information says that person is not a computer technician. But they did approach him and try to blackmail him, which is when the other files - hundreds more - came to light.

Those were handed to police by a third party which was trying to help in the blackmail case. Figuring that he had been caught, Lee absconded. The files remain in the custody of police, while the blackmailers presumably also have a few files themselves.

The matter is highly sensitive because as we had alluded to last night it captures Lee's clients, including diplomats and a few prominent figures - males and females - in semi-nude states. Additionally, there are compromising videos in which massages conducted by Lee and others conducted by a female, veer into sensual territory. Again, all these were taped without the client's knowledge and weren't consensual - meaning that there may have been an invasion of privacy but, likely, not sexual assault or as it's called in Belize, indecent assault. And with Belize's out-dated privacy laws, some argue that it's doubtful that any charge could be brought against him.

Sex, Lies and 5 to 6000 video files in Kevin Lee Saga

Kevin Lee

The Kevin Lee story is apparently more insidious than initially estimated. Lee is the well known acupuncturist who operated up to three massage parlors in the City. In late September reports of the secret videos of Lee’s clients began to circulate. It’s sex, lies and five to six thousand video files that were apparently on a six hundred gigabyte internal hard drive and two back up terabyte external hard drives. Insiders who have seen some of the files have said that it appeared that the sexual activities were clearly consensual but none of those individuals or the high profile clients gave permission to Lee to be recorded. Lee fled the country when he learned that we was about to be detained. Minister of Police told News Five today that Lee has been taken to court in the United States and he will eventually be deported to Belize.

Doug Singh, Minister of Police

“We were informed and evidence were presented to us. That Mr. Lee may have been recording some of his patients without consent. Once we’ve seen the evidence that showed that there were approximately five to six thousand files that he had saved on hard drives and I think there is an estimate of six hundred files that have explicit material. While for a few, the actions may have been consensual, I don’t think any of these people knew they were being recorded. We have consulted the DPP on the type of charge that can be levied. We’ve taken actions to bring in Mister Lee. Mister Lee left the country immediately after he found out that we had discovered this evidence. And we moved as quickly as possible to intercept him. We were fortunate within hours after he had left believe to start taking such actions. We tried to stop him in Salvador—where he flew from Cancun to Salvador—and was unable to; we didn’t get the cooperation there that we thought we would have gotten. And he moved on to Los Angeles, where we did get the cooperation of Interpol. And he’s now in the custody of the authorities in Los Angeles and they are reviewing our warrant and going through the proper legal process before they can return him back to Belize.”

“I assume it’s consensual sex, I can’t make such assumptions. But there is no legal charge that can be made against anything if it’s consensual. It’s not the sex so much so that I think is the problem because it would be very difficult to prove that it was unwarranted and that it was paid for which would then make it illegal. Certainly though, I don’t think any of these individuals understood they were recorded. We have evidence that at least one of the individuals asked not to be recorded and was still recorded. Mr. Lee obviously understood that he did something wrong and immediately tried to flee the country. We are making effort to return Mr. Lee here. It is my understanding that the fine for this kind of infraction—I’m don’t know for a fact that Mister Lee published any of these; if he did the crime would be so much more severe—but if he merely recorded, I think it is a summary jurisdiction matter. At least this is what I was advised and there is a minimal fine for each incident. It’s unfortunate. It shows perhaps that our laws need are to be looked at a bit more and are to be amended to make these far serious crimes.”

Well known personalities in sea of Lee files

Doug Singh

But with a sea of video files on hand, the police department can’t necessarily identify everyone on the tapes or know if they want to complain about the recordings. And though there are well known personalities caught in various stages of undress, there are still countless others who are unsure whether or not they were caught in the Lee web of deceit. Minister Singh says that Lee’s clientele can use legal means to find out.

Doug Singh, Minister of Police

“We are doing all we can as the police to help the prosecution in apprehending and bringing Mister Lee back to Belize so he can deal with the matter. I understand a lot of Belizeans may be concerned because Mister Lee had a very lucrative practice and a lot of Belizeans may be concerned; I don’t know to what extent.”

Jose Sanchez

“How can people complain or know if they were a regular client of Mister Lee just for massages?”

Doug Singh

“That matter is under legal advice. If there is anyone that wants to find out, I think they’ll have to consult their attorney to get the paperwork together to require the police to produce the evidence. And the police will have to review every single file to determine if in fact that particular complainant was on any one of these files. We can’t display this to any member of the public. It is not right for anybody to see any of these activities or any form evidence that involve others. If in fact they feel that their rights were compromised, then they need to make a complaint and we will have to get legal advice on how to deal with these complaints. But at this point in time, we have to deal with the matter as legally appropriate as we possibly can.”

Was there an attempt to blackmail Lee?

The unraveling of the six thousand or so video files in the Kevin Lee saga, is far from over. There were allegations that a computer technician or even security personnel may have been involved in an attempt to extort Lee for cash. News Five asked the Police Minister to comment.

Jose Sanchez

“Is there any investigation into the alleged blackmail side of it where someone was trying to blackmail Mister Lee?”

Doug Singh, Minister of Police

Doug Singh

“In fact, we don’t know who tried to do this. The evidence came into our hands because somebody was seeking assistance from somebody else in trying to assist in getting resources from Mr. Lee. But from the note that I read, it appears that the person was incensed and the person was very upset and would have taken the matter to the police because they said that in the note; unless they were compensated for the violation done to them. It is not unreasonable for somebody who knew that this was happening, to not want to make it public. How many people who knew that a doctor may have violated them would want to make it public? In fact, they may want to be compensated—they can choose to go the legal way or they may try to negotiate privately. I am not sure to what extent it is extortion because the person had the evidence of what was done to them and the letter seemed to have been written in first person. It would have appeared that the victim on the recording is the person who may have produced the letter. We have no real evidence to support this or in contrary of this, we have no evidence as to who sent it—unless somebody would come forward, we wouldn’t know. Certainly we can approach the person in the recording to find out if they had anything to do with it and if they didn’t then it would have meant then somebody who had access to this recording was trying to extort. But that is all part of the process that we are working on and I don’t want to surmise, I don’t want to speculate; we just have to work with what we have.”

Singh says although the police department is closely guarding the evidence, there is no clear indication if copies were made prior to entering the hands of the law enforcement.

How "Dr." Lee Did It

The scandal over so called "Dr.", Kevin Lee continues to widen and tonight 7news has obtained evidence which shows how he secretly videotaped his clients.

We'll get to that in a minute, but first some background. As has been reported, a small portion of the files were stolen - not by a computer technician - but more likely a victim of a secret taping. That person tried to blackmail Lee with it.

He got a third party involved to help fend off the blackmailer, which is when the evidence of thousands of files came forward - and those were turned over to the police. Six hundred of those files depict Kevin Lee and his female colleague engaging in acts of a sexual nature with and his male and female patrons; appearances suggest those acts were consensual.

But the videotaping was not consensual and the clients had no clue that Lee was capturing the massage sessions from multiple hidden cameras in the massage parlour.

Today 7news gained access to some of those recordings, which show how Dr. Lee set up the cameras.

Monica Bodden reports:

What you are seeing here is the massage bed - as Dr. Lee who comes into the frame now sets the camera up on a shelf - hidden among those same boxes he is now getting off the bed

He studies it for a while and then lies on the bed to make sure it is positioned properly to see how it will capture his patients as their legs are contorted in the positions he will put them into during the massage.

He then comes back to the camera making sure it is concealed and checks it one more time to make sure it captures them in a state of rest as he repositions it to its hiding spot and checked it one more time to make sure he captures his victims faces and bodies.

On another recording, he appears to be talking to someone or possibly himself - as he again positions the camera for an optimal view.

As you can see, the resolution is very high quality and all the cameras - he had at least three in use per session - are reported to be very high tech - and would record wirelessly unto a hard drive.

And if you're wondering about the blackness at the edges of the frame, that is from the edge of the soap box he concealed the camera in.

It's clear and disturbing evidence of profoundly creepy - even demented - behavior - but is it a crime? We have spoken to two attorneys who say that there are no privacy laws which specifically protect persons from being taped without their consent.
Still, investigators are trying to determine if the victims of the secret tapings were in their full senses - or if they had been somehow induced into a daze.

Still, the Belize Police Department has requested his return from Los Angeles to face charges, so we'll have to wait to see what those charges are.

But right now, the greatest worry for his unsuspecting victims are the hundreds of files which are presently in police custody. Credible reports say that the files include wives of diplomats and other prominent figures in society.

Kevin Lee Comes Home: What Charge Will He Face?

Kevin Lee - the masseuse and self-described Doctor who secretly videotaped hundreds of his clients was returned to Belize to face charges today.

Lee - who was being held in an INS detention center in Los Angeles - came in on the midday American Airlines flight from Miami. He was escorted by two US Marshalls and handed over to US Embassy Security personnel on the tarmac. They then handed him over to the Belize City CIB investigators who escorted him to a waiting pickup.

Lee pulled his windbreaker over his face as the police led him away - refusing to have our cameras tape his face.
Police took him down to Belize City and into custody at the Queen Street Police Station where he is now detained pending charges.
What will those charges be? As we've told you, Belize's privacy laws are out-dated and we've heard from experienced attorney that there's no crime against what he did - as creepy and hideous as it was.

But, 7news has learnt that there is a female complainant in the case- and the DPP's office is preparing charges. We understand the main charge will be aggravated assault of an indecent nature - which is for sexual offences where the accused has touched or fondled a person. He is expected to be arraigned on that charge by Monday morning.
As we've reported before the Lee case is sensational because he secretly recorded thousands of clients - some of them prominent persons - in semi-nude states receiving massages.

As we've shown you, Lee had multiple hidden cameras concealed in various parts of his massage room. This very creepy video shows him positioning himself the same way he would do to his clients to optimally position the cameras.
This happened secretly for years until a small batch of files were stolen - not by a computer technician - but more likely a victim of a secret taping. That person tried to blackmail Lee with it.

He got a third party involved to help fend off the blackmailer, which is when the evidence of thousands of files came forward - and those were turned over to the police. Six hundred of those files depict Kevin Lee and a female colleague engaging in acts of a sexual nature with his male and female patrons; appearances suggest those acts were consensual.

But the videotaping was not consensual and the clients had no clue that Lee was capturing the massage sessions from multiple hidden cameras in the massage parlour.

Kevin Lee gets deported and is greeted with criminal charges

Kevin Lee, the well-known and now infamous acupuncturist of the “Pain no Pain” massage parlors in Belize City, landed at the international airport before midday escorted by US Marshalls. Lee had been on the run since last September and was apprehended in Los Angeles in early October through local police and INTERPOL work. An attempt at blackmail was not successful and Lee absconded when he figured police were hot on his tails for hundreds of video recordings he secretly made of his unsuspecting patrons at his massage parlors. From what we have been able to gather, Lee will likely be facing charges of aggravated assault of an indecent nature. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Shortly before noon today American Airlines flight 2103 touched down at the Philip Goldson International Airport where it taxied lazily along the tarmac before coming to rest in front of the arrival gallery. While friends and family eagerly anticipated the appearance of their loved ones members of the Belize Police Department remained on standby for the disembarkation of Kevin Lee. The Taiwanese/Belizean massage therapist and acupuncturist was arguably Belize’s most wanted fugitive until he landed in local jurisdiction at midday where he is scheduled to face a slew of charges stemming from acts of voyeurism committed upon his many unsuspecting clients. The Kevin Lee sex files, as they have come to be known, were secretly harvested over a number of years resulting in an expansive database; a complete collection of clientele ranging from the relatively unknown to the well-heeled and even the politically connected.

Upon landing on Belizean soil Lee, decked out in a light grey windbreaker, was escorted by a U.S. marshal to the arrival lounge at the PGIA where he was processed before being handed over to local law enforcement agents. He was being sought internationally after fleeing the country in the wake of a sex scandal which reportedly went viral on the internet in mid-September.

Kevin Lee

The massage therapist, who operated several acupuncture studios cum happy ending parlors, is said to have recorded a myriad of sexual favors being offered to locals and tourists in exchange for cash. Lee was arrested in Los Angeles on October third by Interpol having absconded from Belize weeks earlier. According to police an investigation was launched into the discovery of two terabytes of video housed on electronic equipment belonging to Lee; however, it is questionable how a strong a case can be built against him since the crimes have been described as summary jurisdiction offences. The fact that there were no minors involved has significantly reduced chances of upgrading existing charges against Lee; nonetheless, News Five understands that anecdotally he is facing almost six hundred charges of recording pornographic videos. While only two complaints have been formally registered against Lee more are expected to be filed in civil action being brought against him.

So tonight, Lee is in the custody of the police pending charges of aggravated assault of an indecent nature.

He abused the confidence of hundreds of clients by secretly capturing them receiving massages and other services at his massage parlour - and today 6 weeks after news about the secret recording came out - Kevin Lin Lee appeared in Magistrate's court to have a criminal charge read against him.The 67 year old acupuncturist who called himself Doctor was brought over from the Raccoon Street Police station at 9:30 am along with all the other weekend detainees in the police bus.

At 10:30, he went into Court #2 before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser where he was undefended. She read him the charge: a single count of aggravated assault of an indecent nature. The complainant is a 20 year old female who reported to police that Lee fondled her private parts on april sixth at his clinic on Freetown Road.

No plea was taken because the matter will be tried in a higher court. The prosecutor objected to bail on the grounds that the case is under investigation and more charges are forthcoming. Lee told the court he fears for his life, and the senior magistrate agreed with him. She explained that is why she is upholding the objection to bail - because she believes prison is the safest place for him right now. And so, he was remanded until December 21st.

Reports say that two other females have made similar complaints and charges will be brought for those cases. As we've reported, a cursory review by police of the hundreds of files shows a number of his clients engaging in what appear to be consensual acts of a sexual nature with Kevin Lee.